A company which makes testing equipment for chip-and-pin machines is celebrating two Queen's Awards for Enterprise as it gears up to capitalise on a switch by retailers to contactless payment systems.

ICC Solutions based in Warrington, has been honoured with accolades for innovation and international trade, recognising its work over the last five years to ensure that cash machines and payment terminals are functioning securely.

Credit card giant Visa is the first company to endorse ICC's new device allowing card issuers to test contactless equipment, where no pin number is required for payments up to £15.

Customers can use mobile phones or their cards, which only need to be “swiped” across the contactless payment terminal.

ICC was founded in 1996 by chief executive Dave Maisey and his wife Wendy, who is also a director. The company employs 20 staff.

ICC's testing system entails inserting, or swiping, a credit card-sized device into or across a card reader.

That device is then attached to a computer so that data gathered can be checked against security criteria.

ICC's equipment is used by banks, retailers, payment terminal manufacturers and card issuers.

More than three quarters of ICC's £1.5m annual turnover is generated overseas, and the firm has offices in Canada, USA, Singapore and Dubai.

Mr Maisey said: “Before a bank or retailer can deploy a point-of-sale terminal or ATM it has to be certified by the payment associations like Mastercard or Visa, and our test tools allow that to take place.

“Our innovation is driven by the payment associations, and because of the reputation we have achieved, they know we can relied on to deliver what they need, even though we are a small company.

“This is very complex, cutting-edge technology that is continuously evolving, and we have the experts in the field working with us.

“The US and China are only just starting to implement chip-and-pin and they will be massive markets for us.

“Platforms will keep being updated, so there will always be a demand for our services.”